Cops Fired Fatal Shot In Brooklyn Bar Brawl

More details have emerged about the police shooting in Cypress Hills that left one dead early on Sunday morning. At around 3 am, two undercover cops responded to reports of a wild bar brawl — which apparently stemmed from a dispute about a spilled drink. When the plainclothes officers arrived at the Norwood Palace Sports Bar on Fulton Street, 19-year-old Donovan Wilson ran out of the venue and pointed a .25-caliber handgun at cops, the Daily News reports. The officers — who apparently were wearing their badges around their necks — fired at the teen, hitting him in the chest, elbow, and leg. Wilson survived, though according to the Post, he was shot a fourth time, perhaps before police arrived.

The officers then entered the bar, where patrons were hurling bar stools at each other. In the midst of the melee, 43-year-old Kevin White (pictured) — who was working as a bouncer for a birthday party at the bar and in the past had worked security for Mariah Carey and Sean Combs — allegedly pointed a .357 magnum at cops. Officers fired at White, fatally striking him in the neck. A semiautomatic handgun was found near his body, but it's unclear if it belonged to White. The Post and the Times report that investigators are still studying the surveillance video to determine if White fired at cops, but the Daily News notes that the footage shows that at some point during the brawl he "unleashed several shots."

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that surveillance tapes prove that the officers showed their badges before opening fire on White — who had 28 prior arrests, three for gun charges, and had served time in jail five years ago. "They saw [White] pointing a weapon at them and fired one shot into his neck," Kelly said. "This is all confirmed by videotapes." But White's brother claims that cops didn't identify themselves as police, and that his sibling was only carrying a .357 magnum because he had wrestled it away from another shooter. "He was trying to break up the fight," said Louis, who wasn’t there but spoke to witnesses. "He took the gun from one of them. Then the cops came in and saw it in his hand, and they shot him in the neck...They could’ve hit someone else. My brother would never carry a gun."